Green Lettuce restaurant located on August St., in Greenville on Saturday, August 10, 2013. / MYKAL McELDOWNEY/Staff

Green Lettuce restaurant located on August St., in Greenville on Saturday, August 10, 2013. / MYKAL McELDOWNEY/Staff

Green Lettuce restaurant located on August St., in Greenville on Saturday, August 10, 2013. / MYKAL McELDOWNEY/Staff

More

ADVERTISEMENT

Green Lettuce opened last November in a light-filled Westend space with hardwood floors, offering what owner Sam Shahabi calls “fresh and healthy food with a Mediterranean flair.”

An artist, Shahabi’s paintings hang on the brick walls. He designed the interior of Green Lettuce, made all the tables and chairs by hand and created the logo. “I come from a family of artists,” he says. “My father was a great painter. My brother is a well-known sculpturist.”

The organic salads are also hand-crafted at Green Lettuce. The house dressing, a “secret recipe” made fresh daily, is so popular, Shahabi says, “you can see some of our customers wiping off their plates clean with the pita bread.”

Shahabi moved to Greenville from Pasadena, Calif., 14 years ago after a cousin convinced him “the area was growing fast” and ideal for opening a restaurant.

After opening Kabob House on Pelham Road several years ago, Shahabi decided he wanted to move to downtown Greenville. When the location at 19 Augusta St. became available, he says he knew it was a perfect lunch spot.

A dozen different salads on the menu include staples such as spinach, chicken and roasted turkey, but there are also house special salads with stuffed grape leaves and fresh dates.

“Our regular customers try a different salad every time they visit,” Shahabi says. “Some customers go for the ones with the known ingredients while the others love to try something new.”

The KuKu Sabzi salad includes a “soufflé of herbs” that makes it a distinctive dish, Shahabi says. Deli sandwiches with roasted turkey and pita specialty plates with grilled chicken, humus and tabouli cater to heartier appetites. There are daily specials in addition to the menu, such as stuffed sweet bell peppers, he says.

By noon most days, Green Lettuce is bustling, the crowd drawn by healthy, organic food.

“I think that’s the trend all over the United States or even the whole world,” Shahabi says. “As consumers are growing more health conscience they are looking for quality rather than quantity. At Green Lettuce, you get both for a very reasonable price.”